WINDY CITY CAPTURES THIRD STRAIGHT VICTORY, BEAT CAPITAL CITY 121-109

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Tuesday, February 5, 2019

WINDY CITY CAPTURES THIRD STRAIGHT VICTORY, BEAT CAPITAL CITY 121-109

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, collected their third consecutive win with a 121-109 victory over the Capital City Go-Go on Tuesday night at Sears Centre Arena.

Five Bulls players scored in double figures led by Walt Lemon Jr. who poured in a team-high 24 points and added 10 assists for his sixth double-double of the season. Chicago Bulls assignee Antonio Blakeney had 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while JaKarr Sampson recorded his second consecutive double-double, adding 21 points and 11 rebounds. CJ Fair tallied a stat line of 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Mychal Mulder pitched in with 11 points.

Capital City was shorthanded as they were without the services of Devin Robinson, Tiwian Kendley and Jordan McRae, who leads the G League in scoring at 30 points per game. However, the Go-Go had Washington Wizards assignee, John Jenkins, who scored a game-high 28 points. Noah Allen collected 19 points and six rebounds, while Chris Chiozza fell one rebound shy of his second career triple-double, posting 16 points, nine rebounds and career-high 13 assists. Former Windy City Bull, Duje Dukan added 12 points and four rebounds off the bench, and Mike Davis had 10 points.

Tonight’s matchup featured the sixth-highest scoring offense in Capital City, who average 112.3 points per game and the second stingiest defense in Windy City, who surrender just under 103 points per contest. The Bulls began the game by making two of their first three shots and scored the first five points, but the Go-Go responded by tallying 14 of the next 16 points and led 14-7 upon the first media timeout. Capital City led by as many as nine and despite the Bulls making it a one possession game late in the period, the Go-Go held the lead for the final 10:13 of the quarter. Windy City shot just 39 percent in the stanza, but Lemon Jr. had his offense on automatic, leading all players with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Capital City shot 50 percent from the field, 46 percent from three and led 30-27 at the end of the opening 12 minutes.

The Go-Go’s offense success persisted in the second quarter as they began the period on a 9-5 run, extending their lead to seven. Capital City upped their advantage to double figures and ultimately led by as many as 12, which served as their high-water mark of the night. The Bulls, however, didn’t go away and tied the game at 51 and then 60 with 34 ticks left to play in the half. Capital City led the way for the entire second quarter and owned the lead for the final 22 minutes of the half. The evenly played first half featured 47 percent shooting by both teams and a 60-60 tie at the intermission.

To start the second half, Fair made a pair of free throws, giving Windy City a two-point lead, their first advantage since leading 5-3 in the opening 90 seconds of the game. The Bulls totaled the first six points of the third quarter and led 66-60 with 10:54 remaining in the period. Despite the early offensive success to the half, Capital City managed to stay within striking distance and kept it a two-possession game until the final seconds of the stanza. Blakeney punctuated the third quarter by scoring the final five points of the period. Windy City outscored the Go-Go 31-24 in the frame and led 91-84 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Windy City started the fourth quarter on a 9-1 run to extend their advantage to double figures. Gates, Blakeney and Beachem combined for nine points and the Bulls run ultimately led to a 15-point lead and a Capital City timeout. The Go-Go didn’t tally their first field goal until the 8:42 mark, but it sparked a 9-0 run. Capital City trimmed their deficit to as little as five, but that is as close as they would get. Windy City regained a double-digit advantage and led by 10 or more points for the final 2:59. The Bulls outscored the Go-Go by 12 in the second half and cruised to a 121-109 victory.

In the Bulls current three-game winning streak, they’ve scored 119 points or more in each contest. With the win, Windy City takes the season series with Capital City 2-1 and are now even with Fort Wayne for the top spot in the central division.

The Bulls will have two days off before embarking on their sixth back-to-back of the season on Friday and Saturday. Tip-off against the Mad Ants is set for 6:00pm CT at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

Fans can stay up-to-date on team news by following the team on Twitter (@WindyCityBulls) or visiting WindyCityBulls.com. Full season membership, group, and single tickets for the 2018-19 Windy City Bulls season are on sale now. For all ticket information and full season schedule, visit WindyCityBulls.com.

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